Public charge rule changes were discussed Feb. 24 at Boston City Hall. (Image courtesy of Anqi Zhang.)

The long-expected “public charge” rule change has stoked a wide range of discussion and objections from immigrants, community advocates, service providers, business owners, elected officials and concerned citizens.

To provide more information on the new policy, five representatives held a roundtable discussion Feb. 24 at Boston City Hall, hosted by the Boston Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement.

“We can truly say this is a racist policy,” said Andrew Cohen, supervising attorney of Health Law Advocates.

“Public charge” refers to immigrants likely to live upon financial and material support from the government. Under the new policy, an applicant who is “more likely than not” to need public benefits someday may be denied admission to the United States or lawful permanent resident status. Those who have used a certain amount of the specified benefits over three years will almost certainly be denied permanent residency, known as a green card.

The most impacted groups are those who live in low-income working-class families and want to apply for green cards through family petitions; who may be spouses, children, parents or siblings of U.S. citizens. Specifically, families with income below 125 percent of the federal poverty level (currently $32,750 for a family of 4 in 2020) would be hit; Income above 250 percent of the FPL ($65,500 for a family of 4) would weigh favorably.

The new policy also applies to short-term visa applicants, including business travelers, international students, and temporary workers traveling from abroad. They will have to go through extra paperwork with multi-layer questions during the application process, to examine if they may be ‘public charge’ someday in the future.

‘Boston is truly a welcoming city for all’

The rule is about penalizing poverty, and poverty aligns with racial disparities, Cohen said. In the end, the new policy is penalizing people of color, primarily people from countries where the gross domestic product is lower.

Marion Davis, director of communications from the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said the current administration just wants immigrants who are highly educated, rich and ready to be successful from day one.

“We know the history of this country is people coming here, so many times with nothing, and then building their lives here,” Davis said.

By passing the public charge rule, the federal government is building a wall with restrictions and regulations that challenges the immigrant community. However, that does not represent Boston’s standpoint, said Marty Martinez, Chief of the Mayor’s Office for Health and Human Services.

“The mayor has been committed to the City of Boston to make sure people know everyone counts in this community, that immigrants are the backbone of the City of Boston and have been for generations,” Martinez said. “We will continue to work with them. We will continue to ensure that they have services and resources to thrive in our community.”

Vast majority of immigrants should stay on benefits

Since the new rule targets those who are not able to support themselves and live on multiple benefit programs, fear and confusion have roiled immigrant communities. Some believe they need to disenroll from public benefit programs they or their children are entitled to.

“We don’t want to promote more fear in the community. And that’s really an important message that we have,” said Mario Paredes, staff attorney at Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

Panelists stressed the vast majority of immigrants in Massachusetts should stay enrolled in benefit programs, because they are not affected by the new rule.

“The people who are applying for green cards are not going to qualify for the benefits that really count,” Cohen explained. “And (for) the people who already have the green cards for more than five years, who may qualify for federal Medicaid, it’s not going to apply to them, because they’re exempt anyway.”

The new rule also does not apply to the benefits received by other family members, Paredes added.

Benefits not considered as “public charge” include Women, Infants and Children nutrition funding; Medicaid for people under 21 and pregnant women, along with 60 days postpartum; and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Detailed benefits are here.

Furthermore, the whole policy is not about benefits. It’s about checking factors like age, employment status, income level, health condition, English skill and reducing family-based applications, said María González Albuixech, communications and immigrant health director at Health Care for All.

“The implementation of the rule is after tonight at midnight, which means benefits used before today, and application submitted before today are not subject to the new public charge,” Albuixech added.

Talk to professionals if you have any concerns

The new immigration policy is so complicated that it is overwhelming for the public to take in. Panelists strongly recommended concerned citizens should make use of community resources, reach out to related agencies and talk to immigration attorneys.

“I think the key issue is to think about this in the future,” Mahsa Khanbabai, New England Chapter chairwoman at American Immigration Lawyers Association said.

Khanbabai suggested for individuals planning to apply for green cards should not start the application until advisers think they are well prepared.

The good news is applicants have more time to prepare, and attorneys could help minimize negative factors in their backgrounds, Khanbabai said.

Khanbabai gave some examples. People who are weak in English could plan to improve their English from now on; they could try to get credit scores higher; or consider if you have ever filed tax returns if worked in the state.